I have been described as a “seasoned” networker – that probably means an old guy who networks a lot! – But it took me a while to identify that that there is a pyramid, or hierarchy of depth or quality in all of our potential relationships. Let me describe it to you …

Pyramid Levels:

At the base of the pyramid are what we call ‘suspects’. These are people who seem open to an approach to offer support.

It is usually better to find out more about suspects before approaching them in person. Many are often misidentified and only randomly picked. Only some suspects (when researched more closely) get to the next stage of becoming ‘prospects’.

Prospects are individuals who research confirms meet the effective network criteria, and can usually be approached in person. Once again, initial conversation may reveal that not all prospects have been correctly identified. However, the numbers of people at this level are fewer and you can be much more patient in letting time provide an answer.

Contacts are prospects to whom you have offered support and advice and whose assistance or guidance you have requested on one or more occasions. At this stage, you may have discovered only minor opportunities to call, talk or contact one another, but the potential to do more has been established.

Advocates are contacts that are openly promoting or advocating the benefits of networking (with you in particular) to other prospects and contacts. Although this may not mean frequent contact, it is likely to be more frequent than with general contacts in your network.

Partners are the best and most effective networkers that you know, and the ones you most often call to chat to, to ask advice, or suggest ideas or options. By this stage, the relationship has generally reached a much higher level of mutual trust and understanding.

Using The Pyramid To Look For Opportunities:

To begin to discover who might be your network suspects at the base of the pyramid, an excellent place to start is to reach for opportunities much more widely.

This means becoming broadly alert to the many opportunities to network that may present themselves every single day. Many of these opportunities will be posted in newspapers, magazines, on notice boards, in advertisements, on the Internet and many other sources.

An increased alertness will count for little unless you have a well thought through perspective on what you are looking for. There is no point in networking for the sake of networking. To an extent, this will depend upon your overall personal networking aims and objectives.

Possible networking goals:

• To increase market share/customers
• To find new ideas
• To learn and develop yourself
• To find a job/work/career
• To find a new colleagues/friends
• To pursue a hobby or interest
• To gain new perspective on topics of interest to you
• To go into business for yourself

Different Kinds Of Network:

Every one of these networking goals is a worthy aim in itself, but it is usually the case that only one or two goals of this type will apply at any one time. Consequently, your networking research efforts will be invested quite differently if your goals are broadly around work or career options rather than if they are about starting up your own business.

Hence, although a few people will have very wide and diverse interests and a broad array of interesting contacts, our networking pyramids are built according to our specific goals and interest areas. This is often why we talk about a jobs network, a small business network, an education network and so on.

Networking is not a new phenomenon but with the plethora of sites now specializing in bringing people together, it is certainly something business people should do well.

Personally, I enjoy networking very much – because I am interested in people!

News: I don’t usually post on Saturdays or Sundays, but exceptionally, this week I am going to post both days: Tomorrow, a light-hearted look at the increase in terrorist alerts around the globe – thanks to John Cleese. Here is a snippet ..

“The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved”. Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross”. The English have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to a “Bloody Nuisance”. The last time the British issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was during the great fire of 1666.” More tomorrow

If you’re an entrepreneur, salesperson at a growing company or in charge of a sales team, check this out right now.

Mike Schultz, president of RAIN Group and bestselling author of Rainmaking Conversations, just released a new free video series that focuses on how to:

•Overcome the unique challenges of selling in an entrepreneurship.
•Avoid the most common sales mistakes entrepreneurial sellers make.
•Best communicate the value of your product/service.
•Lead masterful sales conversations that result in new business

It’s worth your time to watch. There are a couple more coming soon too. It’s all part of the launch of Entrepreneurial Selling, a new online training program. I’m part of the faculty, along with some other people whom I highly respect.

So click here watch the first free video in the Entrepreneurial Selling series now. I’m confident you’ll get ideas that will boost your sales.

 
Full disclosure: This email contains affiliate links, meaning I get paid if you sign up for the program. But I only promote things I think are worth it — and I know this is.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change” – Charles Darwin

It is my view that whatever got you where you are today will not be sufficient to keep you there: A rapidly changing environment is the regular background against which organizations must develop – or perish.

Change is continuous and will become more rapid as we move forward over time, and recent commercial history has highlighted the fact that senior management must be capable of reacting to those changes and be prepared to take advantage of them and yet stay within the overall framework and agreed strategy.

The role of strategy is fundamental if the people within an organization are to be enabled to make the level of contribution of which they are capable. Strategy, based on a good grasp of the core competencies of a business, is an essential precursor to achieving optimal shareholder value.

The world’s leading organizations continuously seek to improve their performance, but size should not be an inhibitor when it comes to a commitment to improvement.

There may be unlimited potential for achieving accelerated improvement, but if this potential is not being realized, good change agents must line up and mobilize all the forces (or drivers) for improvement.

There are five main drivers for improvement in organizations ….

• Strategy

• Lean operations

• Balanced culture

• Customer responsiveness

• Leadership

Strategy sets direction and gives focus to improvement. It must however be deployed throughout the organization to be effective.

Processes need to be mapped and analyzed in a methodical way. Projects must be managed. Problem symptoms traced to root causes. Data must be collected before decisions are taken. Trends in customer preferences detached and fed back. Improvement activity of any kind reported on and coordinated. Improvement action measured – just about everything should be done to a discipline.

A balanced culture means effective, creative management of people. Customers are served by people; processes are managed by people. Only people can deliver quality improvement. For them to work well, they must be empowered, given direction, measured and reviewed. Success must be recognized.

Customer responsiveness keeps the organization focused on customer needs, reactions and changing requirements.

Finally, leadership ensures that everyone is enthused and supported to work on the strategy, improve processes, serve customers and become active team players.

So you see, that is just how important leadership is!

News: Busy people make time, everyone else make excuses - today’s Top Sales Tip over at Top Sales World - HERE

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that 20% of the people owned 80% of the wealth.

In the late 1940s, Dr. Joseph M. Juran inaccurately attributed the 80/20 Rule to Pareto, calling it Pareto’s Principle. While it may be misnamed, Pareto’s Principle or Pareto’s Law, as it is sometimes called, can be a very effective tool to help us manage efficiently, but it can also be applied to virtually every facet of our lives.

The value of the Pareto Principle for a manager is that it reminds us to focus on the 20% that matters. Of the things we do during your day, only 20 percent really matter. Those 20% produce 80% of our results, so we should identify and focus on those things. When our ‘time robbers’ begin to sap our time, we need to remind ourselves of the 20% we need to focus on. If something in the schedule has to slip, if something isn’t going to get done, we have to make sure it’s not part of that 20%.

There is a management theory that proposes to interpret Pareto’s Principle in such a way as to produce what is called ‘Top Gun Management’. Those advocating this theory suggest that since 20% of our people produce 80% of our results, we should focus our limited time on managing only that 20% – the so-called “superstars”.

In my opinion, the theory is seriously flawed because it overlooks the fact that 80% of our time should be spent doing what is really important, and that includes developing all of our people. Helping the good to become better is much more important than helping the great become terrific.

When we work to develop our subordinates, we should be concentrating on converting what I term, the ‘reactive mindset’, because we can certainly apply Pareto’s Principle to reactive versus pro-active. Or to describe these two mindsets in a different way - the “running towards” mindset and the “running away” mindset.

The reality is that our very best performers do not typically need close control and management, but rather they need our support, and this is where the very best managers distinguish themselves by identifying what type of management is needed and when – the “one-size fits all” style of management is hopelessly outdated.

The “hire and fire” mentality of times gone by should remain there – in the annals of history: The costs involved with recruiting, training and developing frontline sales professionals today means it is imperative that we get it right at the front-end – or as right as we possibly can. 

It is essential we understand that if one of our team fails, we fail: We selected them in the first place, and it is our absolute duty and responsibility to ensure they achieve their optimum performance levels.

News: I never cease to be amazed at how many so-called sales gurus look down their noses at “cold-calling” – and yet organizations of all sizes use it as part of  highly successful strategies for winning new business. It is quite simply just one method of acquiring new customers/clients, and if it works for you and your company, you should not be dissuaded. Wendy Weiss is probably the best known and certainly the most knowledgeable expert in the world on this topic, and you may enjoy my latest interview with her, during which she dispels four common myths – HERE

Xobni, one of our Top Sales Tools over on Top Sales World, has built a reputation for building products that simplify address book and inbox management with their Outlook and BlackBerry products.  For those of you who are not familiar with Xobni, their platform discovers all the people you’ve ever exchanged emails, calls or SMS messages with, and instantly provides a full view of each contact, complete with their photo, job title, company details, email history as well as updates from LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

Today, they have unveiled a new product line called Smartr and the first 2 new products to be released are Smartr™ Inbox for Gmail and Smartr™ Contacts for Android, which are both powered by a new platform that will enable them to build new products much faster.  You can see a quick overview of the platform here

Smartr Inbox for Gmail is a sidebar that sits in your Gmail or Google Apps inbox and works automatically as you read and compose email – showing you everything you need to know about the people and organizations with whom you email, with no effort from you. As you all know, I manage thousands of relationships and the new AutoSuggest feature makes composing emails a breeze.  All I have to do is type in the first letter or two of the person or company I am emailing in the “to” line, and they will appear with a photo, name and title. As if that was not great enough, once I select the person I want, the next few people I often email with that person appear as suggestions to also add.  Love it!  To see Smartr Inbox in action, check out this video: http://vimeo.com/29351194

Smartr Contacts for Android seamlessly handles many times more relationships than any other product has ever attempted (10,000), does it fully automatically, comprehensively, and yet is still the fastest and most simple contact manager you’ll ever use. And while the interface should feel familiar, the application is remarkably powerful, offering more and more smarts with each tap. If you have an Android phone and use Gmail, Google Apps and/or Outlook you should give it a try. Check out this quick video to learn more about Smartr Contacts:  http://vimeo.com/29351119

Lastly, all of this gets better with Xobni Pro, which connects all your Smartr and Xobni contacts across Gmail, Outlook, Android, BlackBerry and iPhone is coming soon.

Getting started is simple.  Just visit xobni.com where you can easily download either product. 

As always, post your comments and feedback below.  I will make sure to pass them along to the Xobni team.

Yesterday, I outlined how leadership has changed, and I suggested that more than ever, leaders need to develop “soft-skills”. I also promised to share those skills that I believe are absolutely vital: This list is not by any means exhaustive, but it is an excellent start (If you missed yesterday’s post, do simply scroll down)

Integrity

This has to be right at the top, because if the team has cause to doubt the integrity of its leader, then it will fail when the team is exposed to stress or a risk. If a person is capable of minor lapses in their personal integrity, they fail to keep faith and then they could let their own team members down when they are under pressure. Once the team doubts the leader, that doubt greatly limits their chances of the fullest success.

Good Memory

To enable them to recall peoples names and the few essential facts that are pertinent to a wide range of problems.

A Genuine Interest In People

Those that you are responsible for leading will know at once if you are genuinely interested in them – and particularly in their development. Show this and you create that personal bond which is essential to the success of your team. You cannot fake an interest in people – they always find you out. A leader can only be successful by ensuring the success of every individual in the team.

The Ability To Communicate Effectively

A good leader must be able to talk and write simply, clearly and persuasively. They must also listen and digest information intently – communication is a two way process.

Decisiveness

There is a time when a decision must be made and a risk taken, even though the facts may be incomplete. A leader must recognize when further analysis is unprofitable and action is needed. It helps if the cost of changing the decision is known. If the cost is low, the risk is low.

The Ability To Relax

If the team is kept tense and under pressure, irritation arises and performance fails. This is overcome by deliberately introducing a break – just a light remark or opportunity for laughter. The importance lays in the frequency and the need for the break to be related to the task, or the people – not a funny story. The break should be brief, even momentary. It should also come at an opportune moment.

Genuine Enthusiasm

Inner conviction, belief in the team and the objectives before it, gives rise to enthusiasm. This must be visible to the members of the team. It provides the motive power they use to tackle their jobs with courage and hope. If the leader has no belief in the task, why should their team even attempt it?

Those are my top seven, and tomorrow, I’ll reveal the five main drivers, which point organizations towards success ..

News: Lots of comments about my Hardtalk interview with Dan Waldschmidt  “The Problem With Sales Trainers” – if you missed it, simply go HERE and look in the right-hand column.

We are putting the finishing touches to our new project – topsalesmanagement.com – which launches next week, plus finalizing the details of the Top Sales World magazine, which publishes next Tuesday …

This month’s highlight is undoubtedly Linda Richardson’s interview with genuine thought leader, Neil Rackham. Plus, in my new monthly column – JF Uncut – I take a tongue-in-cheek look at the reasons why any imminent marriage between sales and marketing is unlikely, and we also have superb articles from Colleen Stanley, Tibor Shanto and John Doerr.

Finally, we announce all the categories for this year’s Top Sales & Marketing Awards. It is certainly going to be a bumper edition!

Leadership was once about hard skills such as planning, finance and business analysis. When command and control ruled the corporate world, the leaders were heroic rationalists who moved people around like pawns and fought like stags. When they spoke, the company employees jumped.

Now, if the gurus and experts are right, leadership is increasingly concerned with soft skills – teamwork, communication and motivation. The trouble is that for many executives, the soft skills remain the hardest to understand, let alone master. After all, hard skills have traditionally been the ones which enabled you to climb to the top of the corporate ladder.

The entire career system, in some organisations, is based on using hard functional skills to progress. But when executives reach the top of the organization, many different skills are required. Corporate leaders may find that, although they can do the financial analysis and the strategic planning, they are poor at communicating ideas to employees or colleagues, or have little insight into how to motivate people. The modern Chief Executive requires an array of skills.

Some suggest that we expect too much of leaders. Indeed, “renaissance” men and women are rare. Leadership, in a modern organization, is highly complex and it is increasingly difficult – sometimes impossible – to find all the necessary traits in a single person. Among the most crucial skills is the ability to capture your audience – you will be competing with lots of other people for their attention.

Leaders of the future will also have to be emotionally efficient. They will promote variation, rather than promoting people in their own likeness. They will encourage experimentation and enable people to learn from failure. They will build and develop people.

Is it too much to expect of one person? I think it probably is.

In the future, we will see leadership groups, rather than individual leaders. This change in emphasis from individuals towards groups has been charted by the leadership guru Warren Bennis. His work “Organizing Genius” concentrates on famous ground-breaking groups, rather than individual leaders.

It focuses, for example, on the achievements of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Centre, the group behind the 1992 Clinton campaign, and the Manhattan Project which delivered the atomic bomb. “None of us is as smart as all of us” says Professor Bennis.

“The Lone Ranger is dead. Instead of the individual problem-solver, we have a new model for creative achievement. People like Steve Jobs or Walt Disney headed groups and found their own greatness in them.” Professor Bennis provides a blueprint for the new model leader. “He or she is a pragmatic dreamer, a person with an original but attainable vision. Inevitably, the leader has to invent a style that suits the group. The standard models, especially command and control, simply don’t work. The heads of groups have to act decisively, but never arbitrarily. They have to make decisions without limiting the perceived autonomy of the other participants. Devising an atmosphere, in which others can put a dent in the universe, is the leader’s creative act.”

However, the role of the new model leader is ridden with contradictions. Robert Sharrock, of YSC, psychologists who cater to senior business personnel, says: “Paradox and uncertainty are increasingly at the heart of leading organisations. A lot of leaders don’t like ambiguity, so they try to shape the environment to resolve the ambiguity. This might involve collecting more data or narrowing things down. These may not be the best things to do. The most effective leaders are flexible, responsive to new situations. If they are adept at hard skills, they surround themselves with people who are proficient with soft skills. They strike a balance.”

While flexibility is important in this new leadership model, it should not be interpreted as weakness. Two of the most lauded corporate chiefs of the past, Percy Barnevik, of Asea Brown Boveri, and Jack Welch, of General Electric, dismantled bureaucratic structures using both soft and hard skills. They coach and cajole, as well as command and control.

The “leader as coach” is yet another phrase more often seen in business books than in the real world. Acting as a coach to a colleague is not something that comes easily to many executives. It is increasingly common for executives to need mentoring. They need to talk through decisions and to think through the impact of their behavior on others in the organisation.

In the macho era, support was for failures, but now there is a growing realization that leaders are human after all, and that leadership is as much a human art as a rational science.

Today’s leaders don’t follow rigid role models, but prefer to nurture their own leadership style. They do not do people’s jobs for them, or put their faith in developing a personality cult. They regard leadership as drawing people and disparate parts of the organization together in ways that makes individuals and the organization more effective.

So what are the essential leadership traits? Join me tomorrow ….

News: I think you might enjoy the latest Top Sales Hardtalk interview I did with Dan Waldschmidt – “The Problem With Sales Trainers” Yes, you read it correctly, and later this week I intend to elaborate! Do listen in HERE

“There is a difference between leadership and management. Leadership is of the spirit, management is of the mind. Managers are necessary, but leaders are essential. We must find managers who are not only skilled organizers, but inspired and inspiring leaders.” Field Marshall Slim

You can buy someone’s physical presence, but you cannot buy loyalty, enthusiasm or devotion. These you must earn: Successful organizations have leaders who focus on the future, rather than cling to the past. Leaders bring out the best in people. They spend time developing people into leaders.

Here – in my humble view – are the qualities of a genuine leader:

• Leaders have a clear vision of what they are working towards. They don’t keep their vision a secret – they communicate it to their people.

• Leaders are consistent – they keep their principles and values at all times.

• Leaders can and will do what they expect of others – they are prepared to walk the talk.

• Leaders are not threatened by competence – they enjoy promoting people and are quick to give credit to those who have earned it.

• Leaders enjoy developing their people into leaders, not followers – they train people to take on more challenging tasks and responsibilities. They develop people’s confidence.

• Leaders don’t betray trust – they can treat confidential information professionally.

• Leaders are concerned about getting things done. They don’t get embroiled in political infighting, gossip and backstabbing – they encourage those around them to do likewise.

• Leaders confront issues as they arise. They do not procrastinate – if something needs fixing, they do it right away, even if it is uncomfortable. The longer things are left, the more difficult they become.

• Leaders let people know how they are doing – they reward and recognize performance that is above expectations and they help people identify ways of improving poor performance.

• Leaders are flexible. They welcome change – they do not stick to an old position simply because it is more comfortable.

• Leaders are adaptable – they see change as an opportunity rather than a threat.

• Leaders are human. They make mistakes – when they do so, they readily admit it.

• Leaders reflect on and learn from their mistakes – they see errors as a chance to improve their skills.

• Leaders enjoy challenge. They are prepared to take risks and encourage others to do likewise – if they fail, they treat the exercise as a learning experience.

• Leaders focus on the future, not the past. They anticipate trends and prepare for them – they develop a vision for their team and communicate it to them.

• Leaders are open to new ideas – they demonstrate their receptiveness by supporting change.

• Leaders treat staff as individuals – they give closer attention to those that need it and lots of space to those that deserve it.

• Leaders encourage and reward co-operation within and between teams.

Team Leadership

• Leaders develop guidelines with their team – they constantly enlarge the guidelines as the team becomes willing to accept more responsibility.

• Leaders change their role according to the demands of the team – for example, they become more of a coach or facilitator.

• Leaders listen to their team members.

• Leaders involve people in finding new ways to achieve agreed-upon goals.

• Leaders create the opportunity for group participation and recognize that only team members can make the choice to participate.

In Summary

Without managers, the visions of leaders remain dreams. Leaders need managers to convert visions into realities. For continuous success, organizations need both managers and leaders. However, as most seem to be over-managed and under-led, they need to find ways of having both at the same time. Perhaps the best way to handle this paradox is for managers to aim to be managers when viewed from above, leaders when viewed from below and to remember that the need for leadership grows as we move up the organization. This is only one of the challenges that can make working life fun.

News: Some interesting tit-bits for you before I put away my pencil case for the w/e ….

Just received this message from long-time colleague, Danita Bye: “I’m doing some research for an upcoming webinar on Best Practices when hiring Sales Managers. The survey is less than 2 minutes. Is it possible for you to post somewhere where VP of Sales, Sales Directors, or other’s who hire SM might find and be able to respond? ” Of course! Here is the link, and I hope you can help Danita out -http://bit.ly/nQeGkH

Finally, good chums over at OneSource have an event coming up …

OneSource Webinar: 4 Steps to Resistance Free Selling

I don’t want…I can’t afford…I can’t justify… You’re probably all too familiar with these common customer objections. To improve your conversion rates and shorten your sales cycles, it is important that you say the right things, to the right people, at exactly the right time.

Learn some techniques for resistance free selling and close more deals.

Join us for a complimentary one hour webinar. Our panel of expert speakers will show you how to:

• win more new business by building meaningful relationships
• utilise Trigger Events in conjunction with your value proposition to create a more powerful sell
• overcome common objections by contacting your hottest prospects with timely talking points.

Date: Tuesday 27 September 2011
Time: 2pm – 3pm
Register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/596376306

Presenters:

Craig Elias is the creator of Trigger Event Selling™ and the author of SHIFT! Harness The Trigger Events That Turn Prospects into Customers. His knowledge of Trigger Events has resulted in a 20 year track record as a top sales performer.

Ian Brodie is a consultant specialising in helping firms find clients and win more new business. He works with partners, marketers and business developers in law, consulting, accountancy, architecture and other professional service firms to help them focus their strategies, get control of their sales pipelines, improve their selling skills and get better results from their business development activities.

Adam Joseph joined OneSource in 2003 as a Customer Services Consultant and has since been promoted to lead the entire global Client Services Team.  Adam is responsible for the successful direction and implementation of the Customer Services strategy and management of the Global Support team and worked closely on the development and roll-out of iSell. 

Register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/596376306

That’s it, thanks for your company this week, have a great w/e, and be sure to meet me here again on Monday? – JF

As I have said so often, managing is all about motivating ……

It is a fact that we as managers should accept – our people perform better when they feel positive about their job.

In my view, we absolutely must:

• Recognize that active motivation is necessary

• Resolve to spend regular time on it

• Not chase after magic formulae that will make it easy (there are none)

• Give attention to the detail

• Remember that we succeed by creating an impact that is cumulative in effect and tailored to our people

Our intention should be to make people feel individually, and as a group, that they are special. Doing so is the first step to making sure that what they do is special.

Understanding Motivation

Every manager needs to know something of how motivation works. The key is to influence the motivational climates by taking action to:

Reduce negative influences. Potentially, the good feelings people have about their jobs can be diluted by negative views on matters such as: company policy and administrative processes, supervision (that’s us, unless we are careful!) working conditions, salary, relationships with peers (and others), impact on personal life, status and security.

Action is necessary in all these areas to counteract any negative elements.

Increase positive influences. Potentially feelings can be strengthened by specific inputs in the areas of: achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement and growth.

Many factors contribute to the motivational climate – from ensuring that a system is as sensible and convenient to people as possible (reducing negative policy/working conditions), to just saying ‘well done!’ sufficiently often (recognizing achievement).

The state of motivation of a group or individual can be likened to a balance. There are pluses on one side and minuses on the other. All vary in size. The net effect of all the influences at a particular time, decides the state of the balance and whether – overall – things are seen as positive, or not.

Changing the balance is thus a matter of detail with, for example, several small positive factors being able to outweigh what is seen as a major dis-satisfier.

A Little Thought Goes A Long Way

We need to make it clear from the outset that we are concerned that people get job satisfaction. Major schemes can wait. Early on:

• Take the motivational temperature - investigate how people feel now (this is what we have to work on).

• Consider the motivational implications of everything we do - when implementing a new system, making a change, setting up a new regular meeting or whatever, consider what people will think about it? Will they see it as positive?

• Use the small things – regularly – for example, if asked if we have said ‘well done!’ often enough lately, we must always be able to answer yes – honestly.

• Never be censorious – we must not judge other people’s motivation by our own feelings. Maybe they worry about things that strike us as silly or unnecessary. So be it. The job is to deal with it, not to rule it out as insignificant.

Creating the habit of making motivation a key part of our management style will undoubtedly stand us in good stead.

Finally, my last piece of advice: Resolve now – right now – that you will give motivation priority. Don’t be mistaken, motivation makes a difference – a big difference.

A motivated team can achieve extraordinary results – because they believe they can!

News: Can anyone be trusted these days? Apparently not! You may enjoy my short Sales Hardtalk interview with the very wise Dave Kurlan – HERE

Next, 9 out of 10 sales training initiatives have no lasting impact beyond 120 days – Why? Find out in this FREE new white paper from Rain Group HERE  You will need to register, but it is not too onerous – no need to reveal inside leg measurements, or your mother-in-law’s bridge club membership number – unlike so many registration processes today!

Finally, the effervescent Nancy Bleeke shares ”A Sales Tip to Help You Sell More”  – again over at Top Sales World - HERE

Relationship marketing has ceased to be a new buzz word – it’s here to stay.

It’s all about looking at your customers – and your relationship with them – in a new light. Rather than develop a product or service and market it to the customers, relationship marketers think about what the customers want and adapt their product development strategy accordingly.

It’s about customization to meet the needs of the individual.

Relationship marketing is based on getting feedback and using it to develop and improve your service: For example, in relationship marketing, feedback is sought before a complaint occurs, not afterwards – pro-active, not reactive.

This helps to:

• Identify potential problem areas before the customer does
• Customize

For many companies, it has become practice to encourage customers to provide such information via the website. You need good quality information if you are to have a two-way relationship with your customer.

Customer Expectations
Have customers changed? In a word – Yes! But you already knew that …

• They are more demanding
• Have higher expectations
• Have a more pressurized lifestyle
• Want everything, but don’t necessarily want to pay for it
• Are less tolerant
• Want more for their money, time and effort
• Are much more aware of their rights – influenced by consumer rights programs
• Are driven by customer service issues in their own workplace
• Are more likely to seek recommendation from friends and colleagues than rely on advertising
• Are driven by new technology – particularly the internet

BUT – the key to supplier differentiation lies within these increased expectations, since customers now value closer links with efficient, competent suppliers who are willing to act as long term allies, and are able to view the whole buying experience through their eyes and not just ours.

News: We have just published a brand new FREE white paper over at Top Sales World - “Why Sales Training Fails” – I think you might enjoy it – you can download it HERE

With the re-launch of JFA – Jonathan Farrington & Associates - in January, I am going to do more keynotes in 2012, so if you need a motivational speaker for your event/sales kick-off meeting/conference next year, please em me on jf@jfcorporation.com  I am not cheap, but I am good value – allegedly!

Finally, don’t miss the Top Sales Tip of the Day over at Top Sales World - Mrs Konrath at her best – HERE